Rafinha

Brazil and Schalke

Rafinha began his football career at the age of seven, playing for Gremio Londrinense, a futsal team from his home town of Londrina, Paraná. By age 12, he had begun training with PSTC, a local football club, before signing for Londrina Esporte Clube in 2000 at the age of 15. At the end of his second year with Londrina, Rafinha was signed by Coritiba. This meant moving hundreds of kilometers from his home town, but it also allowed Rafinha to display his talents on the national stage. For Coritiba, Rafinha made 23 appearances in the 2004 season and scored three goals in 13 appearances in the 2005 season. At Coritiba, Rafinha eventually found his way into the Brazil under-20 national team and played in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. During the tournament, he scored two goals and played an integral part in Brazil's progress to the bronze medal. Rafinha's performance at the tournament alerted numerous European teams to his ability, with German club Schalke 04 ultimately signing the right-back from Coritiba for an estimated €5 million on a four-year contract. At Schalke, he made 42 appearances in 2005–06 season, two goals in 35 appearances in the 2006–07 season, five goals in 46 appearances in the 2007–08 season, two goals in 40 appearances in the 2008–09 season, and two goals in 35 appearances in the 2009–10 season.

Genoa

On 4 August 2010, it was confirmed that Rafinha moved from Schalke to Italian side Genoa. The…

Brazil

U-23 (2008 Olympics)

In the summer of 2008, Rafinha was involved in a dispute with his club about his participation for Brazil at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Schalke 04 (to send Rafinha) along with Werder Bremen (Diego), both to Brazil, and Barcelona (Lionel Messi) to Argentina, did not want to release their players for the Olympic games so that they could help them in their domestic and European competitions. The case was taken to FIFA, which ruled that all clubs should release their players aged under 23 for the Games. Schalke, Werder Bremen, and Barcelona, however, took their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) who eventually ruled in the clubs' favour, stating, "The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the appeals filed by FC Schalke 04, SV Werder Bremen and FC Barcelona against the decision issued on 30 July 2008 by the Single Judge of the FIFA's Players' Status Committee that consequently has been set aside in its entirety because the Olympics is not on the FIFA's International Calendar to avoid competing with the FIFA World Cup." Schalke continued its bar on Rafinha from attending the Olympics. Despite his club's wishes, however, he ultimately did compete for the Brazil squad under the provision that their salaries were paid for by the Brazilian Football Confederation, which won bronze.

Senior team

Rafinha made his senior debut for Brazil on 26 March 2008 in a friendly match against Sweden. He then…

After retiring, Rafinha worked as a commentator for eight months on Sportv, a position he had previously held sporadically for Bayern matches on TNT Sports. In January 2026, he was hired by São Paulo FC as football coordinator, replacing Muricy Ramalho.

Club

As of 9 March 2025

International

As of 13 June 2017.

Barcelona

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Rafinha joined Barcelona's youth ranks at the age of 13. On 8 January 2011 he made his professional debut with the B team, coming on as a substitute for Jonathan dos Santos in the 55th minute of a 2–1 home loss against Girona in the Segunda División. A week later, again off the bench and in the same competition, he scored his first goal in a 3–2 win at Salamanca, also adding an assist. Rafinha made his debut with the senior Barcelona squad on 9 November 2011, taking the place of Cesc Fàbregas for the last 15 minutes of a 1–0 away victory over Hospitalet in the Copa del Rey. He finished the league season with 39 games – 35 starts – and eight goals for the reserves, including two in a 4–0 defeat of Cartagena on 4 September of the same year. On 27 June 2013, Rafinha extended his contract with Barça, keeping him at the club until 2016. A few weeks later, he was loaned to fellow La Liga team Celta, and made his debut in the Spanish top flight on 19 August, helping the Galicians to a 2–2 home draw against Espanyol. He scored his first league goal 12 days later in another draw at the Balaídos (1–1, with Granada). Rafinha netted a brace at Real Sociedad on 23 November 2013, but it amounted to nothing as the hosts won 4–3 with four goals from Carlos Vela. He was voted the league's Breakthrough Player of the Season, ahead of Real Madrid's Jesé and Rayo Vallecano's Saúl Ñíguez.

Rafinha made his league debut for Barcelona on 24 August 2014…

Rafinha played for Spain at youth level, earning 14 caps for three different teams. On 29 February 2012, he scored for the under-19s in the first minute of their 2–1 friendly win over France in Meaux. Later that year, however, Rafinha switched allegiance to Brazil, going on to represent the under-20 side at the 2013 South American Youth Championship in Argentina. He was one of seven stand-by players named by Dunga for the senior team at the 2015 Copa América. In September 2015, Rafinha was called up by Dunga for friendlies against Costa Rica and the United States. On 5 September, he entered the former game at New Jersey's Red Bull Arena in the 81st minute in place of Luiz Gustavo. Four days later, a minute after taking the field against the latter, he scored his first goal, then assisted clubmate Neymar in a 4–1 win.

Club

As of match played 25 April 2023

Notes

International

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rafinha goal.

Rafinha's father, Mazinho, was also a footballer and a midfielder, notably winning the 1994 FIFA World Cup with Brazil. His mother Valéria played volleyball, while his older brother, Thiago – another midfielder – also emerged through Barcelona's youth ranks, going on to represent its first team and the Spain national side. Rodrigo, who played youth football with Real Madrid and went on to spend several seasons with Benfica and Valencia, is a lifelong friend who has erroneously been referred to as Rafinha's cousin.